Tomatomania’s Top Picks for 2025

Mark Donofrio Dishes on Best Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplants, and Flowers to Get on April 5-6 in Santa Ynez

Mark Donofrio | Credit: Courtesy

The roving gardening extravaganza known as Tomatomania returns to the Santa Ynez Valley for its third time on April 5 and 6. But this year it won’t just be 50 varieties of tomatoes to choose from — there’s peppers, eggplants, herbs, and cut flowers on the menu as well.

You can thank Mark Donofrio of The Starter Farm for spearheading that expansion of the free event, which features a number of classes as well as sales of seeds and plantings that have been tested for Santa Barbara County’s various microclimates. To get a better sense of what to expect, I asked Mark a few questions about this year’s Tomatomania. (Here’s my article on last year’s event, which includes a bit more about Donofrio’s background as well.)

Which tomatoes are you fired up about in 2025?

We are very excited by Tomatomania’s tomato of the year, Persuasion. This pink-striped tomato with green and gold stripes has all the great flavor of traditional heirlooms but has the added benefit of a long shelf life! It can hang on the plant for a while or sit on your counter while still maintaining its ripeness! The flavor is sweet with a touch of tomato tangy on the back end.

Red tomatoes are so last year. People are finally discovering that white, yellow, and even blush tomatoes are some of the hidden treasure of tomato sweetness. Snow White, a white cherry tomato, is our new little secret. People long ago discovered the orange Sungold cherry for sweetness, but Snow White combines sweetness with a touch of tropical flavor. They display a hint of yellow on their shoulders when they are ripe. This is the new kids’ candy this summer.

Sart Roloise is our farmer’s choice this year. This, hands down, was a tasting favorite at our tomato tasting this year. A gorgeous yellow tomato with blue shoulders, this beefsteak is a knock out that performs fantastic in our Santa Barbara County.

Which peppers should we be planting?

Our pepper line goes for the unusual, hard to find varieties not offered anywhere. We have jalapeño, but it’s a yellow one called Lemon Spice. All the flavor but a nice color change for your salsa.

I have found the best variety of shishito pepper called Mellow Star. This plant pumps out the largest shishitos you have even seen all season long.

Want an unusual bell pepper? Sweet Chocolate is a dark/purple bell that is sweet and looks fantastic in a salad.

My Italian heritage has some influence on two other peppers I grew this year. Jimmy Nardellos are a heirloom sweet long red pepper that is rumored to have been smuggled in by an Italian immigrant. These peppers are prized by chefs and often show up as a special side offering on menus sautéed with garlic and olive oil.

Although not well known, Italian Long Hots are our peppers offered this year with the most heat. Back east, we throw them on our roast pork sandwiches to provide a bit of heat!

And there are eggplants too?

Sart Roloise is the farmer’s choice this year. | Credit: Matt Kettmann

Our eggplants are off the beaten path. Oriental Knight is a long, skinny, purple Asian eggplant with thin skins that are perfect to cook and eat as the whole vegetable. Great for roasting and stir fry, these eggplants will make you rethink your eggplant intake!

Eggplants originally got their name because some of the first varieties were white and looked like eggs. Aretussa is an elongated white variety that will surprise people. A less bitter eggplant in taste, it has more versatility in cooking.

Which herbs should we watch for?

We have a range of herbs, from an extra large parsley called Giants of Italy to German Chamomile for making tea. French Tarragon is offered and we even have Borage, which serves a dual purpose of a beautiful flowering plant that bees love and edible purple flowers that taste like cucumber!

And of course basil! Our Italian Large Leaf Basil grows fantastic in our county with the added benefit of producing large leaves for cooking with great flavor.

Flowers are a big part of your daily business. What can Tomatomania guests find at the event?

Coral Charm | Credit: Matt Kettmann
River City | Credit: Matt Kettmann
Homecoming | Credit: Matt Kettmann
Crimson Tide | Credit: Matt Kettmann
Black Pearl Lisianthus | Credit: Matt Kettmann
Falda Salmon | Credit: Matt Kettmann

For the first time we are offering four types of Lisianthus flower seedlings in six packs. You never see these offered in stores probably because they take four months just to get to the size to plant in the garden. These beautiful “rose alternative” flowers last forever when cut.

Croma Red is our most rose looking variety with a deep rich red/rose color. Want something softer? Corelli II Lavender a ruffled type and pairs well with Falda Salmon that exhibits a dark center when mature.

Lastly we are offering Black Pearl, a dark purple streaked with silver that changes throughout the season. Lisianthus sit in the garden a bit before blooming but are worth it. With Santa Barbara’s long growing season, they will re-bloom after the first cutting.

How about your mums?

Last year we made a gamble on heirloom mums. Our farm sourced from three different heirloom chrysanthemum growers from across the country. We were looking to have new focal flowers that could extend our season in Santa Barbara County and boy were we happy. These mums are not your ordinary chrysanthemums found in your local nursery.

Crimson Tide is a large, frilly, burgundy-with-undertones-of-cream flower that is perfect for fall. River City is an apricot/peachy cousin with similar flower structure. Bronze Fleece is a rusty, multi-flower orange color that looks like a bunch of smiling faces. Cheerleader and Homecoming are full bushy flowers that look like pom poms in orange and yellowish tones.

Finally, Coral Charm is unique. This chrysanthemum has a more well known flower structure but the color is a coral-ish, pinkish peach hue.

Chrysanthemums will provide fantastic fall color when the rest of the garden is tired out. In areas that receive a bit of early frost, we recommend covering the late flowering varieties when the forecast predicts a danger.

Tomatomania will be held at Forage Florals (1095 Meadowvale Rd., Santa Ynez) on April 5-6. See tomatomania.com and thestarterfarm.com for more information.